Jan Izaks Swartz, former municipal manager at Nama Khoi Municipality in Springbok, was recently acquitted on all counts in the Calvinia Regional Court.
The acquittal follows his arrest in March 2024 by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team, after which he was charged with fraud and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003. Swartz was released on R5 000 bail.
On 30 September, his application under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act proved successful, leading to his acquittal. A Section 174 discharge allows the court to acquit an accused person at the end of the prosecution’s case if there is insufficient evidence upon which a reasonable court could convict.
NPA delivers statement
Mojalefa Senokoatsane, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said the court held there was very little dispute between the State and defence.
“The chief financial officer (CFO) would have been able to shed light on some issues, but the State could not use the CFO because he was clearly going to assist the defence,” Senokoatsane explained.
“State witnesses both testified that the accused, as municipal manager, was not entitled to approach the service provider (MTN) because it is the accountant’s duty to make expenditures. The accused alleges he acted with the CFO’s permission.”
Senokoatsane said documents needed from MTN were never provided to the State.
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“Evidence that emerged during the trial showed there was oversight in the municipality’s finance department. There was no proper financial control. The accused might have exploited the lack of financial oversight.
“The matter was resolved when the accused paid back all the money.
“However, this does not diminish the fact that he should have acted more carefully. He was, after all, the accounting officer,” Senokoatsane concluded.
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